Stealth
by SiriusFan13
Summary: Stealth has many uses in battle and in ... other arenas... A bit of silliness. Please read and review!


**Annoyingly Redundant Disclaimer: **Ruroken isn't mine. And I'm hitting the point where I wish I owned it just so I could stop with these annoying disclaimers...

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**Stealth**

It had been silent for too long as far as he was concerned…

Kenshin leaned back against a tree, sakabatou in hand, feigning sleep. The silence made him uncomfortable. It meant something was wrong, that he would inevitably have to fix. He cracked one eye open to view the scene, so that he could assess the situation and decide what needed to be done. If he had learned nothing else from his shishou, it was that you should _always_ evaluate the situation before jumping in. And then, when possible, resolve it quickly.

He tried to keep his lips from twitching at the memory of his shishou, thinking, _Of course, if it wasn't possible, the alternative was usually to call everyone a baka and beat them down…_

He was afraid that opening his eyes would draw attention to himself, but he needn't have worried. Though they were near enough to touch, their backs were to him.

They sat about a foot apart, arms crossed glaring defiantly at the trees, ignoring each other as best they could.

Kenshin suppressed a sigh. This was ridiculous. Kaoru and Yahiko had been at this sulky silence for ages now. He'd heard the entire argument through his "sleep." How _she_ was always bossing everyone around. How _he_ never did anything anyway. Well _she _could help out, too. It was _her_ dojo, and _he_ was a freeloader if he wouldn't work. _He _had a job. Well, so did _she._ Yeah, with _one_ student who was a "freeloader."

That last comment had driven them into this irritating silence. The air prickled with agitated ki, and Kenshin had found that rest would not be an option until they were at least talking again. But _how_?

His thoughts returned to his shishou's teachings. Stealth had been one of Hiko's favorite lessons. Using the _mind_ instead of brute force. Especially for Kenshin, who in general, had been too slight of frame for brute force… Of course, for all of his _advice, _Hiko himself had generally been more of the "whack and taunt you until they're too angry to think" school of fighting.

This time Kenshin allowed the faint smile to curve his lips as a wicked idea crossed his mind.

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Kaoru jumped as she felt something forcefully hit her side. She turned and glared at Yahiko, who had already slipped back into his sullen silence, pretending innocence. She opened her mouth, ready to shout at him before remembering that she wasn't speaking to him, and turning away again.

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Yahiko had noticed Kaoru turn toward him, and a small part of him had hoped that she was going to yell at him, just so they could end this stupid silence. If she yelled first, then he wouldn't have been the one to give in… But she had turned away, and he'd just tightened his hands into fists and glared in the opposite direction. 

That's when she'd hit him hard in the side. He looked back toward her, anger flashing in his eyes, lips clamped tightly shut. She ignored his glare, further irritating. Yahiko whipped out his shinai and cracked her on the shoulder.

The look of rage on Kaoru's face was evident. "What was _that _for?" she finally exploded, hitting him back.

Yahiko's face was red. "_You _started it!"

"_Me?"_

Their arguing was cut short bythe sound of laughter coming from behind them. They both froze, turning to see Kenshin leaning forward against his sakabatou, his shoulders shaking with a bout of his rare laughter.

It only took a moment longer for them to realize _who _exactly had started it.

"_KENSHIN!"_ they roared, leaping to their feet.

"You… at least… you're speaking…" Kenshin managed to choke out.

The two exchanged surprised looks. Then in almost a single motion, they both pounced on him.

Kenshin just laughed harder as Kaoru and Yahiko discovered in amusement that the redhead was ticklish. _It was worth it. The fight was over. And Hiko would have been furious to see how his "stealth" training had come in handy…_

_Yes, it was definitely worth it…_

_

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Author's Note: No, I don't know what came over me, but it was kind of fun. Just a quickly written one-shot showing a lighter moment in the Ruroken world... Enjoy! _

Thanks for reading. Please review!

Dewa mata!


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